Swanpool Medical Centre

We carried out an announced inspection at Swanpool Medical Centre on 6 April 2022. Overall, the practice is rated as Good.

Set out the ratings for each key question

Safe - Good

Effective - Good

Caring - Good

Responsive – Requires Improvement

Well-led - Good

Why we carried out this inspection.

At the previous inspection in May 2021 we rated the practice as requires improvement overall. This was a full comprehensive inspection due to changes to the registration of the provider.

• The safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions

How we carried out the inspection

Throughout the pandemic CQC has continued to regulate and respond to risk. However, taking into account the circumstances arising as a result of the pandemic, and in order to reduce risk, we have conducted our inspections differently.

This inspection was carried out in a way which enabled us to spend a minimum amount of time on site. This was with consent from the provider and in line with all data protection and information governance requirements.

This included:

• Conducting staff interviews using video conferencing
• Completing clinical searches on the practice’s patient records system and discussing findings with the provider
• Reviewing patient records to identify issues and clarify actions taken by the provider
• Requesting evidence from the provider
• A short site visit

Our findings

We based our judgement of the quality of care at this service on a combination of:

• what we found when we inspected
• information from our ongoing monitoring of data about services and
• information from the provider, patients, the public and other organisations.

We have rated this practice as Good overall with the exception of responsive which we rated as requires improvement.

We found that:

• The practice provided care in a way that kept patients safe and protected them from avoidable harm.
• Patients received effective care and treatment that met their needs.
• The practice organised and delivered services to meet patients’ needs.
• The practice continually reviewed and monitored the effectiveness of their services.
• The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, however some patients reported difficulties in accessing care and treatment in a timely way.
• Staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their roles effectively.
• The way the practice was led and managed promoted the delivery of high-quality, person-centre care.

Whilst we found no breaches of regulations, the provider should:

• Continue to increase the uptake for immunisations.
• Continue to increase the uptake for cervical screening.
• Continue to monitor staffing levels at the practice and take action to improve as appropriate.
• Continue to develop engagement with patients to notify them of actions taken to address access concerns.

Details of our findings and the evidence supporting our ratings are set out in the evidence tables.

Dr Rosie Benneyworth BM BS BMedSci MRCGP

Chief Inspector of Primary Medical Services and Integrated Care